Former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka storms off the court on first day of the French Open

The autumnal French Open got off to an inauspicious start when former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka stormed off the court after venting her frustration at being left to freeze on the sidelines. 

Just 24 minutes into the tournament at Roland Garros, Azarenka and her opponent Danka Kovinic were forced to take shelter under umbrellas as a mist of rain, strong winds and cold temperatures disrupted their first-round match. 

Azarenka, who began the game wearing a coat, demanded to see the supervisor after being left to ‘freeze’ as she awaited further instruction from the tournament officials. 

Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka vented her frustration at being left to freeze at the French Open

‘You guys are joking right? You don’t see what is happening? What are we doing here?’, she said to tournament official Claire Wood.

Wood – who was a former player herself – sympathised with Azarenka, saying she understood the severity of the conditions, but hoped to get the match back under way.

Just 24 minutes in, Azarenka and her opponent Danka Kovinic were sidelined due to conditions

Azarenka was frustrated that they were left to ‘freeze’ while they waited for further instruction

Azarenka was quick to respond, saying: ‘You do know but you guys are not playing so you have no idea about how the conditions are.

‘I’m down to play whatever, you know I am not complaining here but you know this is getting a little bit ridiculous. 

Wood, who was waiting for further instruction from the tournament referee, asked Azarenka to wait on court to see if the rain would pass. 

However, the two-time Australian Open champion had little patience and refused to sit in such conditions. 

She said: ‘I’m not sitting here because I’m going to get frozen. 

‘No, I’m not waiting here a couple of minutes because I’m cold. It’s eight degrees… I live in Florida, I’m used to hot weather.’ 

Continuing to highlight her frustrations, Azarenka asked Kovinic if she was happy to sit on the court as they await further instruction. Her opponent replied ‘no’. 

As a result, both players walked off the court before they were technically allowed to do so. 

Play continued on the rest of the courts aside from Simonne Mathieu, where Elise Mertens and Margarita Gasparyan refused to start their match – although they did subsequently get under way.

Both Azarenka and Kovinic walked off the court before they were technically allowed to do so